Effect of acceptable use policy on employee computer use : case of Sri Lankan software development organizations

It is a known fact that some employees misuse the organizational computers to do their personal work such as sending emails, surfing the Internet, chatting, playing games. These activities not only waste productive time of employees but also bring a risk factor to the organization. This affects organizations in the software industry very much as almost all of their employees are connected to the Internet throughout them day./ By introducing an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for an organization, it is believed that the computer misuse by its employees could be reduced. In many countries Acceptable Use Policies are used and they have been studied with various perspectives. In Sri Lankan context research on these areas are scarce. This research explored the situation in Sri Lanka with respect to AUPs and their effectiveness./ A descriptive study was carried out to identify the large and medium scale software development organizations that had implemented computer usage guidelines for employees. A questionnaire was used to gather information regarding employee’s usual computer usage behavior. Stratified random sampling was employed to draw a representative sample from the population./ Majority of the organizations have not employed a written guideline on acceptable use of work computers. The study results did not provide evidence to conclude that the presence or non presence of an AUP has a significant difference in computer use behaviors of employees. A significant negative correlation was observed between level of awareness about AUP and misuse. Access to the Internet and organizational settings were identified as significant factors that influence employee computer misuse behavior.

Is there wage premium to computer use in Sweden

This paper examines the wage premium to computer use in Sweden in the early 1990’s. I use simple regression model and interaction terms in my paper to examine the effect of computer use at work. Although the data is only one-year cross-section data, my results clearly show a wage premium to computer use in Sweden. There are also interesting findings in my paper by using Swedish data. From the results, I find wage premium to be related to intensity of computer use at work.

The Digital Divide: Differences in Computer Use between Home and School in Low Socio-economic Households

This article examines information and communication technologies(ICTs) practices in the home and school settings of four disadvantaged families. It reports the findings of a year-long study that investigated the nexus between computer-mediated literacy practices at home and at school and whether this inter-connectivity could make a difference in school success. The findings indicate that there was disjunction between home and school use. The ``digital divide'' exists for the families of this study, not in terms of access but in the gap between ICT practices at home and school. Schools in this study did not integrate ICT skills learned and demonstratedin the home environment into ICT practices at school. The study concludes that constructing pedagogical connections between home and school ICT practices may begin to bridge the ``digital divide''.

Stability of television viewing and electronic game/computer use in a prospective cohort study of Australian children: relationship with body mass index

Background
While much cross-sectional data is available, there have been few longitudinal investigations of patterns of electronic media use in children. Further, the possibility of a bi-directional relationship between electronic media use and body mass index in children has not been considered. This study aimed to describe longitudinal patterns of television viewing and electronic game/computer use, and investigate relationships with body mass index (BMI).
Methods
This prospective cohort study was conducted in elementary schools in Victoria, Australia. 1278 children aged 5–10 years at baseline and 8–13 years at follow-up had their BMI calculated, from measured height and weight, and transformed to z-scores based on US 2000 growth data. Weight status (non-overweight, overweight and obese) was based on international BMI cut-off points. Weekly television viewing and electronic game/computer use were reported by parents, these were summed to generate total weekly screen time. Children were classified as meeting electronic media use guidelines if their total screen time was ≤14 hrs/wk.
Results
Electronic media use increased over the course of the study; 40% met guidelines at baseline but only 18% three years later. Television viewing and electronic game/computer use tracked moderately and total screen time was positively associated with adiposity cross-sectionally. While weaker relationships with adiposity were observed longitudinally, baseline z-BMI and weight status were positively associated with follow-up screen time and baseline screen time was positively associated with z-BMI and weight status at follow-up. Children who did not meet guidelines at baseline had significantly higher z-BMI and were more likely to be classified as overweight/obese at follow-up.

Conclusion
Electronic media use in Australian elementary school children is high, increases with age and tracks over time. There appears to be a bi-directional association suggesting that interventions targeting reductions in either screen time or adiposity may have a positive effect on both screen time and adiposity.

Television, computer use and body mass index in Australian primary school children

Objective: To investigate relationships between children's body mass index (BMI) and parent reports of children's television and video game/computer habits, controlling for other potential risk factors for paediatric obesity.

Methods: Child BMI was calculated from measured height and weight collected in 1997 as part of a large, representative, cross-sectional study of children in Victoria, Australia. Parents reported the amount of time children watched television and used video games/computers, children's eating and activity habits, parental BMI and sociodemographic details.

Results: A total of 2862 children aged 5−13 years participated. Child mean BMI z-score was significantly related to television (F = 10.2₃, P < 0.001) but not video game/computer time (F = 2.2₃, P = 0.09), but accounted for only 1 and 0.2% of total BMI variance, respectively. When parental BMI, parental education, number of siblings, food intake, organized exercise and general activity level were included, television ceased to be independently significantly related to child BMI. Using adjusted logistic regression, the odds of being overweight and obese generally increased with increasing television viewing. No relationship was found for video game/computer use.
Conclusions: A small proportion of variance in child BMI was related to television, but not video game/computer time. This was far outweighed by the influence of other variables. Causal pathways are likely to be complex and interrelated.

Mastering the metaphor: empowering the young child for independent computer use

This paper explores the potential for using metaphors to enable two and three year old children to interact independently with a computer earlier than is traditionally accepted. They need appropriate cognitive skills, the development of which is dependent on the provision of suitable activities; they need adequately developed physical skills to interact with the hardware and necessary knowledge of expected behaviours for interaction. The authors argue that such expectations can be conveyed via the use of metaphors and will employ a purpose-built multimedia product Television Metaphor (TVM) as an example in order to support their discussion. As the TVM software has hitherto demonstrated, age appropriate metaphors using source domains familiar to young children can guide children in the requisite interactions for independent computer use. TVM was created to contextualise theoretical discussions into interface design and to synthesise the ensuing analysis into an applied form.

Economies of scale in computer use : initial tests and implications for the computer utility /

"This report reproduces a thesis of the same title submitted to the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, June 1969."--p. 2.

Comparative effects of TV watching, recreational computer use, and sedentary video game play on spontaneous energy intake in male children. A randomised crossover trial.

To compare the effects of three screen-based sedentary behaviours on acute energy intake (EI) in children. Normal-weight males aged 9-13 years participated in a randomised crossover trial conducted in a laboratory setting between November 2012 and February 2013 in Auckland, New Zealand. EI during an ad libitum meal was compared for three 1-hour conditions: (1) television (TV) watching, (2) sedentary video game (VG) play, and (3) recreational computer use. The primary endpoint was total EI from food and drink. Mixed regression models were used to evaluate the treatment conditions adjusting for age, BMI, and appetite at baseline. A total of 20 participants were randomised and all completed the three conditions. Total EI from food and drink in the TV, computer, and VG conditions was estimated at 820 (SE 73.15), 685 (SE 73.33), and 696 (SE 73.16) kcal, respectively, with EI being significantly greater in the TV versus computer condition (+135; P = 0.04), a trend towards greater intake in the TV versus VG condition (+124; P = 0.06), but not significantly different between the computer and VG conditions (-10; P = 0.87). TV watching was associated with greater EI compared with computer use, and a trend towards greater EI compared with VG play.

Do general practitioners change how they use the computer during consultations with a significant psychological component?

objectives: To describe the patterns of computer use during patient visits to family doctors and to determine whether doctors alter their pattern of computer use in consultations which have significant psychological content.

Computer-mediated communication in distance MA programmes: the student's perspective

This paper reports on a study of computer-mediated communication within the context of a distance MA in TEFL programme which used an e-mail discussion list and then a discussion board. The study focused on the computer/Internet access and skills of the target population and their CMC needs and wants. Data were collected from 63 questionnaires and 6 in-depth interviews with students. Findings indicate that computer use and access to the Internet are widespread within the target population. In addition, most respondents indicated some competence in Internet use. No single factor emerged as an overriding inhibiting factor for lack of personal use. There was limited use of the CMC tools provided on the course for student–student interaction, mainly attributable to time constraints. However, most respondents said that they would like more CMC interaction with tutors. The main factor which would contribute to greater Internet use was training. The paper concludes with recommendations and suggestions for learner training in this area.

Effects of target expansion on selection performance in older computer users

Point and click interactions using a mouse are an integral part of computer use for current desktop systems. Compared with younger users though, older adults experience greater difficulties performing cursor positioning tasks, and this can present limitations to using a computer easily and effectively. Target expansion is a technique for improving pointing performance, where the target dynamically grows as the cursor approaches. This has the advantage that targets conserve screen real estate in their unexpanded state, yet can still provide the benefits of a larger area to click on. This paper presents two studies of target expansion with older and younger participants, involving multidirectional point-select tasks with a computer mouse. Study 1 compares static versus expanding targets, and Study 2 compares static targets with three alternative techniques for expansion. Results show that expansion can improve times by up to 14%, and reduce error rates by up to 50%. Additionally, expanding targets are beneficial even when the expansion happens late in the movement, i.e. after the cursor has reached the expanded target area or even after it has reached the original target area. Participants’ subjective feedback on the target expansion are generally favorable, and this lends further support for the technique.

Changes in computer usage in engineering education

A longitudinal analysis of computer usage by commencing students in Deakin University’s undergraduate engineering and technology programs over the period 1998 to 2001 revealed that; access to computers was at high levels; mean computer usage for off-campus students had not changed
significantly, but had risen significantly for on-campus students; while access to the Internet / WWW had not increased significantly, reported regular use of the Internet / WWW had risen significantly; while most students continued to report their source of Internet / WWW access as either Home or University, the proportion reporting Home as their source of access had risen significantly; and the reported regular use of e-mail rose significantly.